OPTIMIZE YOUR SKIING THROUGH BETTER RANGE OF MOTION

Having optimal range of motion about a joint is one of the most important training factors for an athlete. A yearly biomechanical assessment performed by a qualified therapist or conditioning coach will determine your individual flexibility requirements. Optimum range of motion will decrease the potential for injury and enhance your ability to generate power on your skis. These are both critical factors in ski racing.

Static stretching sessions should be held as a separate 40-60 minute workout or following cardiovascular workouts. It is not recommended to perform static flexibility after maximum strength training or plyometrics as it is thought to inhibit neural functioning for up to 2 hours following a session (1). This will interfere with recovery and adaptations following these workouts.

For stretching sessions, a 10-15 minute cardiovascular warm up should bring a light sweat prior to stretching. Individual stretches should be held at least 45 seconds and repeated 2-5 times on each muscle group. Hold stretches to the point of tension, do not stretch through pain. You should hold your stretches at about 60% of maximal tension (2). You need to stretch at least 3 times/ week to maintain your flexibility. To improve your flexibility, you need to find 6 times/ week to stretch (1). Some examples of effective stretches for ski racers are  lying rotation and hip flexor stretches.



The most optimal way to recover from a day of skiing is to begin your warm down while you are still on snow (3). A few low intensity free ski drills or runs followed by a 20minute, 65% (max heart rate) cardiovascular flush on a bike or walking will remove approximately 97% of the lactic acid that builds up during skiing. Following this up with a stretching session will return your muscle to at least their resting length and potentially even improve flexibility.

Equally as important as static flexibility sessions for optimizing range of motion are dynamic movement. These are progressive exercises that mimic the activities you are about to perform. An example of good sport specific warm up exercises for ski racing are the lateral tuck lunge, leg swings and torso rotations . Static stretching, or holding a stretch for more than 20 seconds (as discussed above), will help to lengthen and relax a muscle. However, relaxation is not an optimal state to be in prior to training or competing. Yet for some reason, static stretching has become a regular part of the warm up. Enhanced flexibility cannot be achieved in the warm up, but rather post exercise, which may explain why flexibility is so poor in many athletes. There is some evidence to suggest that injury prevention in the warm up is actually achieved by progressively increasing the speed of movements that mimic the activity you are about to take part in i.e dynamic warm ups (1).

By combining a good pre and post activity routine involving both static and dynamic range of motion exercises, you will both improve your on snow performance and decrease the chances of injury.







References:
1) Balyi, I. Athlete Coach Training Manual. CSCF: Calgary, Alta, 1999.
2) Twist, P, Sport Conditioning Specialist certifications 2007.
3) Norris S. Alpine Canada K2 Academy– Ottawa, September 2003.




Sarah Applegarth MSc, CSCS, CEP-CSEP, SCS is a conditioning and wellness consultant in Collingwood Ontario.
She specializes in training athletic population in injury prevention & performance enhancement through exercise and nutrition prescription.
Sarah has an exercise manual specific to alpine skiing that can be purchased by contacting her at sapplegarth@rogers.com